New Ulm weekly review., 1887-03-16
drawled forth in a voice Of mock SYM

| uIdWleu lOELA III a. VOICE Oh IuOCK Il-
pathy
"Borlag, my son, guess you'll have
to begin tending night school, like
Johnny does, to kind ofcatch up and
improve your spinder-leg writing.
You're getting left way behind!'
The foreman darted look of hate
on Johnny; and that look said he'd
like to twist his neck if he dared.
Next he spit out the spiteful retort:-,
s'When have need to run into the
baby business of tending night school
to keep up my end of the line, I'll let
you know"
"All the same" as Frank said
Johnny has caught up and gone by,
and you're getting badly left"
Theforeman had gained his position
mainly for his ability to lay off the
work in drawings to form the patterns
| by. Little did he suppose that the
despised Johnny was possessed of
more natural ability, not only to
sketch mere copy OF a drawing, but
originate new designs. Snagg, how
ever, CHANGED to make the discovery
by stumbling onto some OF Johnny's
specimens in a drawer under his saw
table. And straitway he showed
them to Bor1ag. along with the cut
ting suggestion
.'rell you what it is, my boy. first
thing you know Johnny will be walk
ing right into your foreman's shoes
This was getting ''clean down to the
saw and the foreman's face showed
that it "hurt like fun" He Kissed.
':Tscha! Them are some of the
drawing teachers draughts he's hook
ed, an he's tetcht 'em here to pass EN-
OF for his own"
Johnny felt good. You could see
that in his eyes. But he didn't let on
a word. He never did have much to
say, he was the least given to brag OF
any man ever saw.
After that we saw no more of John
ny's drawings. LEARNED, though, that
he was putting in his best licks to
make himself perfect as practical
draughtsman, under q first class draw
ing teacher.
This was partly the eye-opening in
the way of astonishment George Fanch
had said there would be, in regard to
Johns progress. 1t was nothing to
what loomed six months afterwards,
however. About that time it got out,
somehow, that Mr.. Leperre, who
had just fitted up an establishment
like ours in another city, was on the
| lookout for q foreman, and would
| pay a tip-top salary for theright man.
He was to inspect our factory in a
| day or two, anxious to secure the
services of an experienced hand.
| AS the saying is, this set us all 'by
the ears.' Not one who did not hope
to be the lucky one picked out, and
secretly resolved to try every possible
scheme to bring it about. Three OF
the men paid the gentleman a visit at
on the rest. It didn't do 'em a mite
OF good, though. Mr.. Leperre said he
would not make any decision until he
had gone through the shop.
The only one not worked up on the
matter was Johnny. OF course, there
was no show for him, as he couldn' be
| in the count, nohow. He hadn't had
the experience. Not one OF us ever so
! much as thought to figure on his hav.
ing chance, nor did he himself, as l
gathered from what he let out when l
| spoke to him about it. Even when we
saw Mr.. Laperre talking quite a good
ish bit with him, we didn't mix him
up in the matter. @
But Johnny got the position. Bless
ed if he wasn't hired at salary OF a
thousand dollars a year for a starter.
| Never saw such q row as it made.
"WelI," says one, "that Hicks mel"
| And another fired off the mean shot:
| fol for. l,,o),
AS for Borlag, he pretty nighfrothed
at the mouth. He seemed to be com.
pletely dazed. Couldn't make it out.
All he could do was to gasp
ooh HI That mullethead fore
man? Wait till he undertakes to lay
out job. Til bet drinks for the
crowd he'll be kicked out of the shop
in less than a month";
"And you'd get badly left, Borlag,"
Fanch broke in, in his straightout
way OF speaking. "Do you know
what the gentleman told Whitbeck?
He said Johnny was the most intelli-
gent workman he ever met
This gave the foreman such wrench
he soaked himself full Of beer that
night and slept in the station house.
| And after that he was more bitter
than ever against Johnny, and con-
stant in his assurance that the "mul-
let-headed fool" would soon be thrown
out OF a situation into the street.
Zone thing is dead sure" he added;
che, II never be allowed to shove his
nose in this factory again"
To his utter rastonishment. however,
and for that matter the astonishment
OF the whole OF us, in less than three
months it came out that an entirely
new design, with a patent arrange
ment of great value, the work of John-
ny, had been placed on the market
by the new firm, and was selling like
hotcakes.
| So said Whitbeck. He intimated,
farther, that it was bad thing for
our establishment, as the new instru-
menU was proving very popular, and
might materially injure his own line